Seven Cancer Causing Ingredients in Food
[ Written by Lika Todadze. Posted on 7:12 AM | 1 comments ]
The ingredient list on food labels where we find out what's really in the product is often hidden under a flap of packaging material in very tiny print, just barely visible without a magnifying glass. This is But in order to understand the healthfulness of the product. Some are straightforward, like carrots. Some may seem straightforward, but are actually a way of hiding harmful ingredients the manufacturer doesn't want you to know are in the product.
A good example of this is broth. It seems like a safe ingredient unless you know that broth usually contains MSG and that this is one way that food manufacturers hide MSG in their products. Here are seven cancer-causing ingredients we might find in food:
1) BHA, is a preservative that IARC classifies as a possible carcinogen; it possibly causes cancer. It may be used to preserve foods, like cereal, that come in a box, or it may be sprayed on the packaging instead. Either way it should be avoided.
2) Potassium bromate is in brominated flour, often found in bread. It's classified as a possible carcinogen.
3) Citrus Red No.2 or FD&C Citrus Red No.2 is also a possible carcinogen. Its use is limited to coloring orange skins. If you eat the orange peel or grate it to use in any foods that you make, you will be eating a chemical that possibly causes cancer. You can avoid this cancer-causing chemical if you buy organic oranges.
4) FD&C Colors are generally derived from coal tar. Coal tar is a human carcinogen. It is known to cause cancer. While the FD&C colors are not themselves known to cause cancer, do you really want to be eating additives in your food that are made from cancer-causing chemicals?
5) Smoked foods may contain nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), both of which can cause cancer.
6) Pickled vegetables that are prepared the traditional way as done in Asia are possibly carcinogenic
7) Chinese style salted fish cause cancer. Not probably, not possibly. IARC says they do cause cancer.
Food additives are in almost all packaged foods, even from a health food store. Consumers are more aware about eating healthfully, so food manufacturers are designing packages to make it look like the food is healthy. However, if you read the ingredients on the label you'll find, in many cases, that it's not true. Have you ever read it?
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January 9, 2008 4:39 PM
I am reading so many articles about danger hidden in our food and I am wondering:
Why is not food industry legally obligated to keep our food safe?
It would be much easier and healthier for all people to know that our food is sound. Going shopping is getting more and more frustrating.